The Haunting Circus
by TitanicDisaster15
Summary: After an entity of a clown began to haunt the circus and scared everyone, the Ghostbusters were called to catch the entity. But it won't be an easy night for them, especially with balloons.
1. Chapter 1

**The Haunting Circus**

 **Chapter 1**

Egon did some writing on the notepad, checking out the Containment Unit in the basement of the firehouse. He checked through the scope and noticed something out of the ordinary. "Absolutely not good," he said.

"What?" Winston said.

"P.K.E. readings in the grid are fluctuating in a horrific way," Egon said. "I've been checking on the grid, and it appears these readings are what I expect the worst."

"So you're saying the grid's not holding up good again? Man, it's just like having to swim around that river of slime during the Vigo incident. I'm just glad they had the entire subway pumped out."

Peter went down the stairs. "What's that you said about the subway?" He asked.

"The P.K.E. readings in the Containment Unit are fluctuating horrifically," Egon said. "I think we might expect a big cross rip Ray had mentioned."

"Egon, I think those calculations had wrecked your health. The unit's working fine."

"Peter, I would remind you that something big could be the future result, like I told Winston about the big Twinkie."

"Bigger than the lawsuits we had over a building?"

Egon fell sternly silent. "Yes."

"I think what Egon means is that if the readings in that Containment Unit tend to get worse, results would be just as big as that series of lawsuits we had years ago," Winston said.

"Oh, and I'm glad I stayed home that time," Peter said, shrugging. "Anyway, when Ray comes in, tell him he's late." He then went back upstairs.

"Late for what?" Winston asked.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside New York City stands a giant tent, appending to be the Big Top Circus. The ringmaster had finished putting his clothes on and left the trailer. The clowns were juggling, and the midget clown, Tiny Goof, arrived.

"Hey, boss. How long will it take to get things prepared for the circus?" The midget clown asked.

"Patience, Tiny Goof," said the ringmaster. "It will open when everything is secured. We'll be ready for the show. Besides, everything is well ahead."

"I see. So I guess we shall have the circus ready for..."

"Tonight."

"Tonight? But boss, we might not have enough time!"

"That's why we're well ahead, and if I were you clowns, I'd get busy rehearsing for tonight's show. Understand?"

"Yes, Sir." Tiny Clown left, only to slip on the banana peel and fall.

The ringmaster headed into the tent. Inside, the elephants were seen standing on hind legs. He walked by and entered the room, where he went to his trunk to get his tailcoat and top hat. He opened the trunk and gathered his stuff, but as soon as he turned around while putting them on, he saw a balloon from out of nowhere, floating.

"Who left it there?" The ringmaster wondered. He approached the balloon, but as soon as he got close, it popped, splattering slime on his face. "Ack! Yuck! What kind of prank was that?!"

"It was for you," a voice said, laughing.

"Who said that?" He looked around and saw a clown in a silver costume with red Pom Pom balls on it and the shoes, and he gasped. "No! You can't be!"

"Want a balloon? Because you'll float too," the clown said, holding a balloon.

"N-No, this can't be!" The ringmaster cried, terrified.

The clown laughed, and then he roared when he sprouted sharp, pointy teeth. The ringmaster screamed and ran out, closing the door. He held his back on the door, panting. He then opened the door and looked back in, but the clown was gone. He walked around the room, wondering if it was all a hallucination or dream. He pinched his own hand to see if he was dreaming. But then he shrugged it off and assumed it was a prank. He picked up a towel from the trunk to wipe his head. "Pranksters," he said.

* * *

Nighttime came. It was the grand opening of the circus, and everyone went in. The light shone on the ringmaster as the drumroll played.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Big Top!" The ringmaster announced. "Tonight will be the best show on the face of the earth!"

The snow went well for the audience, with tigers jumping through fiery hoops, a man flying from a cannon and landing on a net, elephants standing on hind legs, and even with a man holding a chair and whipping at the lion. Then, the clowns were doing silly stunts and making people laugh, especially with Tiny Goof slipping on a lot of banana peels. But as the show went on, the ringmaster heard laughter and saw the same clown from earlier, and he gasped.

"I got a balloon for you," the clown said, cackling. "What's that, one balloon not enough? How about many?!"

The ringmaster saw many balloons raining from the roof of the Big Top and falling towards the audience and the clowns. Just then, they started popping, splattering slime all over them. Everyone screamed and scrambled out of the Big Top, as the clowns slip on the slime. One balloon floated down and popped slime on the ringmaster, and he screamed. The clown stood there laughing.

Everyone had scrambled out of the circus, disgusted about the slime and seeing the clown.

"Mommy, what was that clown?" a boy asked.

"I'm a mess!" The woman groaned.

"Boss! That clown we saw is a ghost!" Tiny Goof said.

"You saw it too?!" The ringmaster gasped. "Oh, dear. There's only thing to do." He approached the phone and dialed it.

"Hey, boss, who are you calling?" The fat clown asked.

* * *

Back in New York, the bell of the firehouse rang. The Ghostbusters were having lunch when they heard it. They slid down the pole, hopped aboard the Ecto-1 after suiting up, and they drove out with sirens on. They drove out of the city and arrived at the circus entrance.

"Oh, thank goodness you're here," the ringmaster said as the Ghostbusters strap on their Proton Packs. "I was hoping you would."

"So what's the story here?" Winston asked.

"I was running the circus for tonight's show when this clown scared everyone away with the balloons."

"What? How does a clown scare everyone away with balloons? Did he he happen to have spiders in them?" Peter asked. "I'd call the exterminator about that."

"Actually, Peter, this is way worse than spiders," Egon said, noticing the slime. "It appears they've seen a ghost, judging by the recent signs of ectoplasmic mess these people became victims of."

"I hope you guys could get this done tonight," The ringmaster said.

"Nothing to worry about, we are highly paid professionals with unlicensed proton shooters," Peter said.

The Ghostbusters went into the Big Top, as Egon pulled out the P.K.E. Meter to check the area. Ray pulled out his Neutrino Wand and scanned his Ecto Goggles.

"Hey, Ray, did you once had a dream about a forest, but with balloons instead of trees?" Winston asked.

"Well, no. Why?" Ray asked.

"I think I see them there."

The group saw the balloons floating around. Egon checked his P.K.E. Meter, and the wings went up with fast beeping and flashing lights. "Curious. There appears to be signs of psychokinetic readings within the balloons," he said. "But these readings are negative."

"Negative readings? So that means whoever we're about to face is all an entity like the Boogeyman, right?" Ray asked.

"Ray, entities and ghosts are pretty much the same," said Peter. "I think we should split up."

"Good idea, Peter," said Winston.

"That way we'll cover as much area as we can," Egon said.

The Ghostbusters walked in separate directions to look for the entity. It's about to become the night of their lives.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Ray scanned the area with his Ecto Goggles as he walked around the bleachers. So far he found nothing out of the ordinary, except for the balloons with P.K.E. readings from earlier. "I just wonder why those balloons have negative readings," he said.

Winston checked the back of the tent, outside. It was where the cages and the animals were locked in following the ghost's sudden appearance. He noticed a red balloon moving away, and he had to follow it, and he entered the ringmaster's room. He pulled out his Neutrino Wand, looking around. "Hello?" He called out. He heard a laughter. "Who's here?"

"Follow the voice, and you will see me," the voice said.

Winston looked around the room, seeing nothing but a cabinet with a mirror, and a bed. He turned and saw the same balloon from earlier. "That's the balloon from earlier," he said.

"And it's all for you. Don't you want a balloon?" The voice asked.

Winston then saw the clown appear from the shadow, holding the balloon and laughing. "Who the heck are you?"

"Don't suppose you heard of me? I'm the entity beyond your worst nightmare. The dancing clown that any child would see. Or perhaps you just happen to see the clown."

Winston fell perplexed. "Okay, now I feel stupid here. Are you really a ghost?"

The clown made a sinister grin. "I'll ask you again. Don't you want a balloon?"

"Why are you asking me that?!"

The clown then roared as he charged toward Winston with sharp teeth.

Winston screamed and dodged the entity. "Damn it!" He shouted, firing a Proton stream at the clown. The clown laughed and flew again, but Winston ducked as he phased through the wall. He ran to open the door, only to see the balloon, and it popped, splattering slime on him. "Shit! That was stupid!"

* * *

Egon checked the area outside the tent, after everyone was cleared out. He noticed a yellow balloon floating toward the forest nearby, and he had to follow it. His P.K.E. Meter picked up readings, but when he looked, he saw a paper boat moving. He followed it, and then he saw it fall into a hole. The meter was still beeping.

"Impossible," Egon said. "There can't be paranormal readings on that paper boat." He looked and saw the clown. "What are you doing down there?"

"Just waiting for you," the clown said. "Seems like you found the boat. Don't you want it back?"

"Why would I want that boat?"

"Exactly. Go ahead and take it." Egon reached his hand in. "Because you'll float too."

Egon quickly pulled his hand out when the clown showed his sharp teeth, and the clown laughed. He pulled out his Neutrino Wand and fired at the clown, but he disappeared before he got the chance. "Okay, that was terrifying," he said. He put his wand away. "But that clown does look familiar. Paper boat, balloons, clown..." Then suddenly, it hit him. "Of course!"

* * *

Peter walked around the circus, looking. Just then, he saw that the forest of balloons was gone, except for a green balloon, as it was held by the clown. "Hey, clown," he said. "You shouldn't be in the circus when there's a ghost around."

"I'm just here to give you a balloon," the clown said. "Don't you want it?"

"I've already done balloons at a kid's party last year. You should probably get one yourself."

The clown laughed. "So that's a no, huh? That's too bad. Consider it a gift anyway."

Peter watched as the balloon floated from the clown and moved toward him, and then it popped, covering him in slime. "Ack! Yuck!" The clown laughed. "Alright, I'm gonna bust your ass!" He pulled out his Neutrino Wand and fired a beam, but the clown dodged and did a dance. "Hey! Come back here! Are you too scared to face me?!"

Peter got his words eaten when the clown charged with sharp teeth, which scared him. The clown roared when the proton stream was fired from Ray's Neutrino Wand.

"I got him, Peter! Fire your beam!" Ray said, but he stopped firing when a blue balloon popped slime all over his face.

The clown laughed. "Well, if you don't want balloons, then you are my prey!" He said. "Come to my place! I'll be waiting!" He phased through the ground, and a cavern appeared.

"What a coward," Peter said.

"Ray, come in!" Egon said over the walkie talkie.

"Spengler, I'm with Venkman! He got slimed by the balloon!" Ray said. "And then this cavern suddenly appeared!"

"I'll need you guys to gather round! I figured this whole thing out!"

"Okay, we'll wait for you."

* * *

Later, the Ghostbusters had gathered round, as Egon explained to them.

"I've had a sudden brainstorm about that clown, judging by the P.K.E. readings I had. The clown is also a negative entity, a Class 4 apparition. I've seen a paper boat and those balloons, and I think they point to the clown being the source. That clown we saw wasn't just a clown at all. He's Pennywise."

Ray gasped. "Of course! The dancing clown also known as IT! What a breakthrough!" he exclaimed.

"Okay, I'll bite. What is It?" Peter asked.

"IT is a supernatural entity, a being that appears to children because of their fears. In that story, it's victim was the child wanting to retrieve his paper boat. That victim was Georgie."

"Wait a minute. You're saying that this thing can show up because of a person's fears?" Winston asked.

"Exactly," Egon said. He looked at the cavern ground. "And it would seem he's opened the door for us to go in, but I doubt it's for fun and games."

"So I guess we just have to go in there, kick his funny ass, and be out like balloons, right?" Peter asked.

"Peter, I'm afraid that's what we have to do. Otherwise the whole city would become a forest of balloons, and slime."

The Ghostbusters look down at the cavern, and they all went into it to search for Pennywise and stop him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Egon checked the underground cavern with his P.K.E. Meter, searching for Pennywise. Except when he looked around, the wings are always up, beeping fast everywhere he points. "P.K.E. readings are everywhere in this cave," he said. "I can't even find him."

Ray checked his Ecto Goggles. "Or maybe I can find his trail, with my Ecto Goggles," he said. "That would make Easter Eggs much easier to find."

"And you think that's gonna help, Ray? Look at this place! Finding this clown is gonna be like a needle in a haystack," Peter said.

"I'm afraid Peter is right, Ray," said Winston. "This cave is the haystack, and Pennywise is the needle. It's gonna take the four of us to find him anywhere in the cave."

"We still need to be cautious," Egon said. "Pennywise could play bad tricks on us."

"It could take all night to find him around," Ray said.

The Ghostbusters pull our their Neutrino Wands and activated them. They split up to search for Pennywise.

* * *

Ray went walking down the tunnel, with his Ecto Goggles to search. He heard a child's laugh and removed them from his eyes. Gripping his Neutrino Wand, he walked carefully. The laugh grew near, and as soon as he approached a crack, he saw something red emerging from it. It started inflating like a balloon, and then it popped, splattering what turned out to be blood all over him.

"Whoa! And I thought the River of Slime was scary enough!" Ray said. Then he heard Pennywise's laugh, and then he saw him emerging through the same crack, standing back.

"You're quite a mess there," Pennywise said. "Why don't you come over here, and I'll get you cleaned up? You'll like it in here."

"Like I would listen to you!" Ray said, aiming his Neutrino Wand. He fired a beam, but Pennywise disappeared into the crack before he could hit him. He stopped firing and heard Pennywise's laugh echoing.

* * *

Peter walked around the area of the cave. He looked around for any sign of Pennywise. As soon as he turned, he saw a child in a raincoat, frowning. "Hey, kid," he said, "you shouldn't be down here. It's not safe, so allow me to escort you back up. What do you say, huh?"

The child didn't respond for a while, and then he said, "He led you here, didn't he? You'll float too when he finds you."

"Yeah, I bet he said that," Peter said. Then he noticed something. "Hey, wait a minute! You're that Georgie kid I heard about, right?" No respond came from the child. "Hey." He walked to him. "You can tell me."

Peter put his hand on the child's face, trying to comfort him. But when he looked down, the child's feet had disappeared, and as soon as he looked up, he saw that he was touching a balloon, and then it popped, splattering blood on him. "Ack! Damn it!" He wiped his face and saw Pennywise standing there.

"Poor Georgie. Don't you agree?" Pennywise asked before laughing and revealing his sharp teeth.

"Well, laugh at this, clown boy!" Peter said, firing a beam at Pennywise. Pennywise flew and disappeared into a shadow, and he lowered his Wand. "I swear, the next time a balloon pops in front of my face, I'm gonna go bonkers on your goofy ass!"

* * *

Egon checked the tunnel without using the P.K.E. Meter due to the cavern's psychokinetic readings. He walked around, but as soon as he turned around, he bumped into Winston.

"Egon. You scared me," Winston said. "Where the hell could this clown be?"

"Although as an entity, Pennywise and his cavern share the same negative readings, like his balloons and that paper boat I saw earlier," Egon said. "I'm convinced that Pennywise is a spirit capable of being caught like any other ghost, if my calculations are correct."

"I really hope so, so long as we don't run into any more of his balloon tricks."

Just then, the two saw the red balloon moving down the tunnel.

"Okay, this is terrifying," Egon said.

"You think it would lead us to Pennywise?" Winston asked.

"Yes." He grabbed his walkie talkie. "Ray, Peter. Come in!"

"I'm here, Egon," said Ray over the walkie talkie. "Did you see him yet?"

"No, but I got a bunch the balloon I saw will lead us straight to him."

"Okay, we'll be right there!"

* * *

Ray and Peter managed to caught up with Egon and Winston.

"Okay, we're all here. What's next, we follow the white rabbit?" Peter said.

"No, we follow the balloon," Egon said. "It should lead us to Pennywise."

"Follow the balloon? Give me a break, Egon. Surely it must be a circus stunt."

Egon saw the balloon. "There! Come on!"

The Ghostbusters followed the balloon down the tunnel, and they followed it all the way to the room, all purple with a bunch of balloons.

"Wow! Looks like we crossed paths to the next level of hell!" Ray exclaimed.

"Oh, a room full of balloons," Peter said. "Looks like we were invited to a birthday party."

"Yeah, a birthday party where Pennywise comes to kill us all," Winston said.

"How right you are," Pennywise said. The Ghostbusters saw him. "But this party is about to become your doom. Are you ready to float?"

The Ghostbusters activated their Neutrino Wands.

"Well, the only one floating won't be you, Pennywise!" Peter said. Pennywise sprouted sharp teeth as he roared. "Come on, guys, let's show this clown how we do things in New York!"

"Fire!" Ray said, and the Ghostbusters fires their beams at Pennywise, who flew away and laughed maniacally. The balloons floated down to them.

"I hate it when he does that," Winston said.

"Have some balloons. I hope you like them," Pennywise said.

"Well, I'm bursting your bubbles here!" Peter said, and he fired a beam at the balloons, which all popped and covered the team in slime, must to their disgust. "Now you're really getting your ass kicked!"

"Man, now I hate balloons," Winston said.

"Come on, there's always better balloons when this is over," Ray said. "It's only one night."

Pennywise roared when he sprouted sharp teeth again and flew towards the Ghostbusters, but they dodged. Ray fired a beam but missed. Pennywise turned to charge at Peter, but Peter dodged and fired a beam.

"This guy is fast!" Winston said when he fired a beam and missed.

Pennywise flew and disappeared in the shadows.

"Now where did he go?" Peter asked.

Pennywise suddenly appeared and grabbed Egon in a headlock. "Surprise!" He laughed.

"Egon!" cried Ray. "Blast him!"

"No, we might hit Egon as well!" Winston said.

Pennywise laughed. "I said this before, I'll say it again. You will all float!"

Egon looked at a nearby balloon. "That's it!" He said, grabbing the balloon.

"Egon, what are you doing?" Winston said.

"Peter, pop the balloon!" Egon said.

"What?" Peter asked. "I got us slimed that time!"

"Just shoot it!"

Peter aimed his Neutrino Wand. "I hope I know what you're thinking!" He fired a beam at the balloon, and it popped slime.

Egon sputtered from the slime on him but used it to slip free from Pennywise's grasp. Pennywise got angry and sprouted sharp teeth again, but Egon quickly caught him with the proton beam. "It worked! Now's our chance!" he said.

The other Ghostbusters fires beams at Pennywise, and he roared and bellowed as he squirmed around. Ray rolled the Ghost Trap right under Pennywise. He stepped on the foot pedal, and the trap's doors open.

"Maybe now you'll learn not to mess with the Ghostbusters!" Peter said. "The fun is over! Now, Ray!"

Ray stepped on the foot pedal again, and the Ghostbusters look away as the trap sucked Pennywise in and then closed the doors. After a few seconds, they approached the trap, and Ray picked it up.

"And that's how we defeat IT," Winston said.

Suddenly, the whole place started to rumble.

"Uh-oh, party's over! Everyone run!" Ray cried, and the Ghostbusters raced out of the room, through the tunnel, and they jumped out of the cavern ground just before it exploded in blue light and disappeared. After that, they got back on their feet and look back at where the cavern was.

Egon checked the area with his P.K.E. Meter. "This circus is clean," he said.

"Oh, great," Peter said. "Another paranormal nightmare exterminated. You think I can go as a clown next time?"

"Peter!" The others said.

"Just a joke, guys! Lighten up!" Peter laughed. "Well, time to head out."

* * *

Outside, the Ghostbusters left the circus, and everyone cheered as Ray held the Ghost Trap.

"Thank you, thank you!" Peter said. "We ain't afraid of no ghost!"

The Ghostbusters set their Proton Packs in their Ecto-1, and they got in the car to drive back to their headquarters.

"At least Pennywise is gonna spend a very long time in the Containment Unit from now on," Ray said.

Winston started the engines, and the Ecto-1 drove back to New York City with sirens on.


End file.
